Democratizing Deliberation: pre-order this must-have book today

I’m really excited about a book that’s about to be published by the Kettering Foundation, called Democratizing Deliberation. We’re going to be working with Kettering to engage NCDDers around the book’s content, because we feel the book covers topics of great import to our field. It’s always challenging for practitioners to find the time to stay on top of research in the field, so we’re going to be running NCDD’s first-ever online book club to help bridge that ever-challenging research-practice gap — and hopefully have fun doing it!

Democratizing Deliberation: A Political Theory Anthology brings together recent and cutting-edge political theory scholarship on deliberative democracy. Edited by Derek Barker, Nöelle McAfee, and David McIvor, the collection reframes deliberative democracy to be sensitive to the deep conflicts, multiple forms of communication, and aspirations for civic agency that characterize real public deliberation. In so doing, the book addresses many of the most common challenges to the theory and practice of deliberative democracy.

Here’s what NCDD member Katherine Cramer Walsh (University of Wisconsin-Madison) says about the book:

“This book is a great resource for deliberative democracy practitioners and scholars alike. It puts in one place seven gems from the literature on deliberative democracy and wraps them in a concise yet thorough genealogy of the concept. This book is not just theory, however. The pieces were carefully chosen to challenge all of us to contemplate the link between talk and action. Presented in this way, the volume provides inspiration and knowledge that will nourish the practice of deliberative democracy in its wide variety of forms.”

I recommend you order your copy as soon as possible so you can participate fully in the book club NCDD will be running.

Call 1-800-600-4060 to order your copy of the 184-page book, or email your order to [email protected]. The list price is $15.95, but there is a 20% discount in effect until October. In addition, Kettering is willing to send out free review copies to people who have networks of their own they can share the book with, and to faculty members who could potentially use the book as part of their curriculum. Just email Kriss Gang at [email protected] to request a review copy if you think you may be eligible (and please let him know you heard about the book through NCDD!).

Here is a chapter list from the table of contents…

• Foreward by David Mathews
• Introduction by editors Derek W. M. Barker, Nöelle McAfee, and David W. McIvor

PUBLIC REASON AND BEYOND: BROADENING CONCEPTS OF DELIBERATION

• Three Models of Democratic Deliberation by Nöelle McAfee
• Rhetoric and Public Reasoning: An Aristotelian Understanding of Political Deliberation by Bernard Yack
• Difference Democracy: The Consciousness-Raising Group Against the Gentlemen’s Club by John S. Dryzek

DELIBERATION IN COMPLEX SYSTEMS: EVERYDAY TALK AND DE-CENTERED DEMOCRACY

• Everyday Talk in the Deliberative System by Jane Mansbridge
• De-centering Deliberative Democracy by Iris Marion Young

FROM TALK TO ACTION: DEMOCRATIC PRACTICE AND PUBLIC WORK

• Sustaining Public Engagement: Embedded Deliberation in Local Communities by Elena Fagotto and Archon Fung
• Constructive Politics as Public Work: Organizing the Literature by Harry C. Boyte

Check out the book flyer for more details. And send me an email if you’re interested in serving as a chapter leader in the book club, which includes writing up a summary of your assigned chapter for the NCDD blog.

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